"Pepe" is a 1960 song written by Hans Wittstatt and
Dory Previn for the musical comedy film Pepe, featuring
Mario Moreno ("Cantinflas") in the lead role. It was first recorded by
Shirley Jones for the movie.
Duane Eddy covered the song the same year. There have also been several other cover versions of this song.
Shirley Jones version
The song was originally performed in the movie by
Shirley Jones.[1] It was released as a single in 1960 on
Colpix Records CP 15013.[2] Jones' recording reached No. 4 in Spain.[3]
Duane Eddy covered the song in 1960 on
Jamie Records 1175. His version charted at number 18 on the
Billboard Hot 100.[4] However, it was a much bigger hit in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at Number 2 in January 1961.
Dalida covered it in French as "Pépé". It appeared on her 1961 album "
Garde-moi la dernière danse" and one single from same year.[11] It reached number 3 on the German chart,[12] and number 10 on the Dutch chart.[13]